Yes, grant funds can be used to repair equipment as long as the repairs are directly connected and necessary to your project and not general operational costs. If the repair work will be performed by you or employees, the cost should be included in your personnel budget. If the repair work will be performed by a contracted third-party, the cost should be included in your contractual budget.
Yes, grant funds can be used to pay for deep professional cleaning as long as this work is tied directly to your project (e.g., in preparation for the installation of new equipment or as part of a goal to bring a facility to up to a higher level of food safety). Costs for professional cleaning work performed by a contracted third-party should be included in your contractual budget.
Yes, grant funds can be used to pay for deep professional cleaning as long as this work is tied directly to your project (e.g., in preparation for the installation of new equipment or as part of a goal to bring a facility to up to a higher level of food safety). Costs for professional cleaning work performed by a contracted third-party should be included in your contractual budget.
According to the USDA AMS General Terms and Conditions (below), grantees cannot use federal funds to meet cost sharing or matching requirements. However, some loan programs that the federal government is involved in or guarantees provide loans originating from non-federal sources. If you are unsure if your loan is considered federal funds, it is your responsibility to speak to your lender to understand the categorization of the funds.
Please note that the grant-funded assets cannot be used as collateral for the matching funds loan.
According to the USDA AMS General Terms and Conditions (below), grantees cannot use federal funds to meet cost sharing or matching requirements. However, some loan programs that the federal government is involved in or guarantees provide loans originating from non-federal sources. If you are unsure if your loan is considered federal funds, it is your responsibility to speak to your lender to understand the categorization of the funds.
Please note that the grant-funded assets cannot be used as collateral for the matching funds loan.
We encourage you to review the Project Evaluation Profile to understand how applications will be scored. No additional priority is given to projects solely based on the source of their match, but consideration will be made to the applicant’s financial and administrative capacity to carry out the project and the applicant’s ability to accurately track, document, and verify any in-kind contributions provided.
We encourage you to review the Project Evaluation Profile to understand how applications will be scored. No additional priority is given to projects solely based on the source of their match, but consideration will be made to the applicant’s financial and administrative capacity to carry out the project and the applicant’s ability to accurately track, document, and verify any in-kind contributions provided.
We are not able provide specific guidance on how to answer questions in the application or speculate on how answers will be perceived by reviewers. Answer all questions honestly, and if you answer yes, in the follow-up answer you should identify the federal or state grant program(s) and describe how the RFSI project differs from or supplements the other grant program(s) efforts. As stated in the RFP, reviewers will evaluate if the project/applicant has any apparent conflicts with other state or federal grants and ensure that projects are not receiving funding for the same costs from two grants (“double dipping”). It is allowable to use another non-federal grant as match to your RFSI grant (see answer in the match section above).
We are not able provide specific guidance on how to answer questions in the application or speculate on how answers will be perceived by reviewers. Answer all questions honestly, and if you answer yes, in the follow-up answer you should identify the federal or state grant program(s) and describe how the RFSI project differs from or supplements the other grant program(s) efforts. As stated in the RFP, reviewers will evaluate if the project/applicant has any apparent conflicts with other state or federal grants and ensure that projects are not receiving funding for the same costs from two grants (“double dipping”). It is allowable to use another non-federal grant as match to your RFSI grant (see answer in the match section above).
In the Project Beneficiaries section of the application, it is allowable to include other socio-economic or demographic statistics, indicators, or characteristics that are relevant to your project or the people or communities that will benefit from your project.